Egypt and Jordan are likely to announce the return of their
ambassadors to Israel at the four way Israel, Palestinian Authority,
Egypt, Jordanian summit scheduled for Tuesday in Sharm el-Sheikh,
Israeli diplomatic officials said.

One official said that both Cairo and Amman had been looking for the
right time to send back the ambassadors they recalled shortly after
the start of violence in September 2000, and that a cease-fire call
at the summit may provide the perfect opportunity.

Egypt´s intelligence chief Omar Suleiman extended the surprise
invitation for the summit at a meeting with Prime Minister Ariel
Sharon in Jerusalem Wednesday morning. Invitations were also extended
to Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and Jordanian King
Abdullah II. All of the leaders accepted the invitation.

Sharon´s office issued a statement saying the invitation was
issued "in light of progress in the security talks with the
Palestinians."

Sharon and Abbas were originally to have met next Tuesday in
Jerusalem. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will be in Israel
and the PA for talks on Sunday and Monday, but US officials said she
has a packed schedule, and is due in Rome on Tuesday and they knew of
no plans for her to join the summit.

The summit will mark the first time Sharon will meet Abbas since he
was elected PA chairman last month, and also the first time Sharon
will have a face-to-face meeting with Mubarak since taking office in
2001. While the relations between the two men after Sharon took
office had a stormy beginning, they have steadily improved since
Sharon announced his disengagement plan in December 2003.

Although they haven´t met since Sharon took office, they do have
frequent phone conversations. Mubarak´s release last December of
Azzam Azzam improved the atmosphere tremendously.

"Mubarak is trying to create regional momentum for the process," one
senior official in the Prime Minister´s Office said. "He wants to
show everyone that there are not only those opposed to the process,
like Hizbullah and Iran, but also those who support it. He is
concerned that extreme elements want to torpedo the process, and
wants to show everyone that Abbas has chaperons."

The official said that Israel agreed to hold the meeting in Egypt as
a show of appreciation to Mubarak for playing an active role in
encouraging Abbas to deploy forces in Gaza and calm down the
situation. Israel also wants to see Egypt actively involved in
patrolling its border with Gaza and preventing the smuggling of
terrorist and arms.

Abbas, who on Wednesday concluded a two-day visit to Turkey, voiced
optimism over the planned summit. "We are hopeful," he told reporters
at Ankara Airport. "We will go to the meeting with hope." He has
reportedly accepted an invitation to visit Iran as well.

A source close to Abbas said the PA chairman has always expressed
willingness to meet with Sharon. "The problem is not where the summit
will take place," the source explained. "Abbas is prepared to meet
with Sharon anywhere, but the most important thing is to come up with
tangible and fruitful results."

Israeli officials conceded that holding the meeting in Egypt, with
Mubarak and Abdullah present, gave it a more dramatic flair than
would have been the case had it been held in Jerusalem. But, they
said, Sharon would still insist on focusing the discussions on the
security steps the Palestinians need to carry out to halt the terror.

Sharon´s chief aide Dov Weisglass is expected to meet Thursday with
Palestinian minister Saeb Erekat to discuss the agenda of the
meeting.